Day One: Hello, Boracay!

September 24, 2008- Day One: Hello, Boracay!

It was a dark and rainy day here in Las Piñas. It was raining the day before, September 23, and winds were quite strong. We were afraid that our flight will be cancelled due to the winds. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Our call time was scheduled at 7 am, and some of us came as early as 6:15 in the morning. We were so excited that day. We left the school at 9:45 am, and we arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 at 10:30 in the morning. The flight was scheduled at 11:30 am. After the usual inspection and routine in the airport, we boarded the Cebu Pacific plane. The flight was not that long; it took us only an hour to reach Kalibo, Aklan.

As soon as we arrived there, we took our bags and jumped to the van to go to the picturesque town of New Washington. For those who do not know, New Washington is the birthplace of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila. Msgr. Albert Venus is also a native of New Washington; in fact, the Venus and Sin family are neighbors. We ate our lunch, courtesy of the Venus family. After eating, we changed our clothes and we sang one song in their living room. We then got back to our van and went to the Pink Sisters’ Convent, also in the same town. These contemplative sisters, also known as the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, spend their time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to pray for the missions and the people’s intentions. They are called “Pink Sisters” because of the color of their habit. We went to their gift shop and cloister grille to ask permission to celebrate the Holy Mass. Thankfully, the sister agreed, and we went to Mass with the whole community of sisters. In the Mass, we sang the Musica Sacra competition pieces. The Mass was celebrated with great dignity and solemnity, adding to the beauty and sacredness of their convent chapel. After the Mass, we sang some songs for the sisters, and they applauded us. We went back to the gift shop and cloister grille. We were greeted by the sisters, and thanked us for coming. They gave us envelopes with a prayer book and a rosary as a thank-you gift. We then went to our vans and proceeded to the town proper again, where we took pictures before the bronze monument of Cardinal Sin, in front of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. After taking pictures, we left New Washington and went directly to the port in Caticlan, where in there are direct ferries to Boracay Island.

The trip lasted two hours, because Caticlan was 66 miles away from Kalibo. The view from our windows was fantastic. We passed through mountains, rivers, and even a forest in the heart of the mountains. After the long trip, we finally arrived in Caticlan. Surprisingly, the ferry trip was only fifteen minutes! We were very enthusiastic to arrive in that paradise island. Some tricycles were waiting for us. We rode on them, and thus, we began another long trip to our lodging. It was dinnertime when we arrived in Casa Pilar. We checked-in our rooms, and then proceeded to the restaurant for dinner. Our sumptuous dinner filled us until were full. After eating, we went to our own places, and went around. Some just walked around near the beach, others went shopping, and others went to have some henna tattoo. Some of us event got to bed at almost 3 am! We were so excited for the next day, which will be our free day. And yes, we all finally went to sleep.